The Very Hungry Classroom

By Tiffany Heimer

The Very Hungry Classroom is a cookbook for room parties to help teachers and parents provide fun, healthy party food for the holidays. Teachers are happy with the no- or low-sugar treats, parents are happy with the simplicity and fun treats. Children are happy as they devour the food! No need to troll the internet looking for ideas wondering if yours will turn out the same. All recipes have been tested in the author's run of the mill kitchen, with a normal mom with no special cooking skills and all the time constraints that plague everyone along with children, dogs and phones ringing. Recipes are all pictured and were taken on the first attempt unless otherwise noted (there is an outtakes section for those). Pictures were taken with the author's iPhone without any special lighting. All items were tested on children for the yummy factor. If you make one of the recipes, yours should look similar to those pictured on your first try.
Holidays included are:
Groundhog's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Memorial Day
July 4th
Labor Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving/Fall
Christmas/Winter

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tiffany Heimer
• Release date: Aug 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310474552

Tiffany Heimer

Tiffany Heimer is mom to two adorable, energetic boys and a crazy, spoiled Keeshond. She is happily married to the best husband she could ever imagine. She stopped working for a large company in 2014 and began working on The Very Hungry Classroom with her children who were eager test subjects... most days. She spends many hours working with her boys on outlandish Halloween costumes, themed birthday parties, messy art or science play dates or just deciding something sounds fun, let's go try it! When she is not occupied with duct taping cardboard for children, she can be found gardening or organizing another shelf in the home. One of her goal's is to learn to play the harp by 2017.

Book preview

About this book:

The idea for this book came from a few years spent at schools that discouraged sugary treats for birthday celebrations and holiday parties. I quickly realized that many parents just don’t have time to troll the internet hunting for inspiration, ideas, or have the patience to sift through the desserts and junk food options that comprise the majority of the party food found. Plus, I wanted my children to feel like they were having fun food for their celebrations.

I made every item, tested it, and took photos with my camera phone. There was no special lighting or touch up of the photos. All food was made in my kitchen with a toddler trying to help while I tried to ensure no dog hair in the food. All photos were taken with my outdated smart phone. The food made here should come out looking for you pretty much the way it appears in the picture. Recipes were selected based on taste as well as cuteness and ease of creating. If I would not eat a certain combination of food, then I would not expect children to eat it either. Also, I tried to limit the number of specialty cooking devices. Let’s face it, you can buy cookie cutters in almost any shape or design, but do you really want to purchase or store dozens? The mini-cookie cutters came from one set as did the full size ones. Ask another parent if you could borrow theirs for the party food creation if you do not have a specific one.

Abbreviations used in this book:

tsp. = teaspoon

tbsp. = tablespoon

c. = cup

You will notice many recipes use homemade whipped cream; do NOT use store-bought as it won’t taste the same, and I can’t guarantee if the kids will eat it. Plus, homemade is much healthier when organic ingredients are used.

Here’s to a great party!

Groundhog’s Day

1. Granola No-Bake Groundhog Cookie

2. Goofy Groundhog Hot Dog

3. Pudding or Applesauce Cup Groundhog

Brief History:

American Groundhog day is observed on Feb 2nd and is the half way point between winter and spring. The earliest mention of it in America is from a Morgantown, PA journal from 1841. It appears to have come about from a German American tradition. In Germany, a badger was watched for to indicate the future weather, but here in America, the Germans had to switch to the local groundhog.

In Scotland, the legend involved a snake. Many believe it has ties to the ancient Gaelic tradition Imbolc. Imbolc was believed to be when the Cailleach, a divine hag of Gaelic tradition, gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend states if she wished to make the winter last awhile longer, she would make sure the weather on Imbolc was bright and sunny, so she could gather plenty of firewood. Therefore, people would be relieved if Imbolc was a day of foul weather, as it meant the Cailleach was asleep and winter is almost over. Footnote 1.

GRANOLA NO BAKE GROUNDHOG COOKIE

Items needed:

• 1 c. Peanut butter

• 1 1/2 c. Granola cereal

• 2 tbsp. Honey

• 2 tbsp. Dry milk (equal portions of dry milk and honey)

• Teddy Grahams (chocolate or honey flavored)

• 2 tbsp. Mini chocolate chips - optional (pictured with mini-chocolate chips)

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients.

2. Scoop out a spoonful (think cookie size). Pat into a thick,